One
of last year's best surprises was Viewtiful Joe, a
game that featured a young man wrenched from his seat
in a theater and pulled into a movie where he was
turned into a superhero so that he could rescue his
girlfriend. Whom it turns out was also mysteriously
sucked into the motion picture. Viewtiful Joe was
a fun game that had its own unique look and style.
The controls were smooth but the game was tough. This
sequel is no exception. It's fun but it's challenging.
It's not for quitters. It features new characters,
new weapons, new vehicles, new moves and all of the
same fun and adventure that you have come to expect.

A
truly great sequel, Viewtiful Joe 2, incorporates
Joe's girlfriend, Silvia into the action. The two
playable characters both have different strengths
and weaknesses which you will have to exploit in various
parts of the game. Switching between the characters
is as easy as pushing a button. Unlike some games
which have multiple playable characters which are
similar to each other, the gameplay is designed to
force you to use both of them. It's a real team effort
to get through the game, even though there is only
one person at the helm. Figuring out when to use each
character adds another layer of depth.

One
of the first things that players will notice about
this sequel is that it looks and sounds so much like
the first game. The music has been salvaged although
it's been remixed and you'll hear many of the same
voices. The hand-drawn graphic look is back and it
looks as good as ever. Sometimes there's no reason
to mess with success. You'll notice that sometimes
reviewers trash a sequel for these same reasons. Why
do we allow one game to get away with changing almost
nothing for the sequel and yet attack another for
doing the same thing? Good question. In fact, it's
so good that I wish I had an even better answer for
you.

While
the press release boasts 40 new enemies, you'll have
to fight them over and over throughout the game. It
gets a little redundant. My only real complaint about
the game is that it could have used a few hundred
new enemies.

Joe
retains his fighting skills and those incredible VFX
powers. Fuelled by VFX juice, these powers include
Slow, Mach Speed and Zoom. Slow is a form of bullet
time which virtually grinds the action to a standstill
allowing you to move about at normal speed. Mach Speed
lets you speed yourself up, which comes in handy when
you're delivering multiple punches. Zoom lets you
increase your size and consequently increases your
destruction capabilities.

Silvia
uses her pom poms as weapons but she also wields laser
pistols and other guns to take on enemies. She can
lock-on up to eight enemies at a time to deliver a
powerful blow from a distance. Replay is a new VFX
power that is exclusive to Silvia. It replays events
increasing the value of each action up to three times.
You may be delivering a punch in replay mode which
will increase its damage threefold, conversely, you
may also be on the receiving end of an attack which
will inflict three times the damage on you. It takes
quite a bit of juice to run these powers so you have
to make sure you use them at the right times.

Locations
are all over the map. You'll visit feudal Japan, an
abandoned mine, outer space and even below the sea
where the Six Machine vehicle from the last game turns
into a submarine. You can also use it as an aircraft,
driller, racer and cannon. The Machine controls well
enough but these are some of the most challenging
levels next to the final boss battle. Be prepared.

It's
hard not to like this game. The presentation is near
perfection. It's got a great sense of humor and it's
full of personality. The control system takes some
getting used to but it's really effective and responsive.
You will experience a little bit of slowdown but otherwise
the mechanics are sound.

There
are a lot of great games on the market this season
and Viewtiful Joe 2 is certainly one of them. If you
liked the original you'll love the sequel - and we
all know that doesn't happen very often. Due to the
extremely challenging nature of the gameplay I would
have to recommend purchasing this game as it's going
to take you a lot longer to complete than you might
expect, and who needs the pressure of having to return
it in a day?